Yes, for example any company using unsupported software in the scope of the assessment, such as Microsoft XP, will probably fail to achieve Cyber Essentials certification.

You need to get nearly all the questions right (compliant) to pass the Cyber Essentials assessment. You must control all these aspects of your system to be certified. This very strict pass criterion is set by the UK Government. If you are not compliant in some of the questions, we suggest you try to change your processes to meet the requirements. Additionally, add notes to explain why you are not compliant in certain aspects and how you control that risk.

All clients receive feedback on any aspect of the assessment that is not fully compliant. You will get a PDF of all the answers you provided, along with comments from the assessor on any that were considered non-compliant. If you fail the assessment, this feedback should help you improve your security so you can pass in the future.

Once you sign up, we will send you your portal login details within approximately one week. After you have answered all of the questions, we aim to assess them within 24 hours. If you pass, you will be able to download your certificate straight away. If you sign up for the Plus package, once you have completed the initial assessment, we will arrange a convenient time for the on-site assessment or can be done remotely. This usually takes one day, but if your environment is more complex, you may need an additional day.

If you fail, IASME allow you two working days to examine the feedback from the assessor and address any simple issues with your network and policies. You can then update your answers, and the assessor will review them again at no extra charge. However, if you still fail after these two days, you will need to reapply and pay the assessment fee again.

All your customers will be able to search for your certificate via the National Cyber Security Centre webpage. They can search by your company name to find your Cyber Essentials certification date.